Monday, December 14, 2009

Since Horace Walpole, (1717-1797), 4th Earl of Orford, was of the 18th C, and my stories are not, I never took much notice of him. He wrote what’s generally considered the first Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto, which I read in college. I knew he lived in the Gothic house called Strawberry Hill, and I’d recognize pictures of it, but that’s all I knew. Now, though, I know a little more. I’m back from a trip to the Yale Center for British Art, where they’re showing a collection of about 300 out of the umpty bazillion objects he collected in his lifetime. In his day, you could see them at Strawberry Hill. You wrote to him for a ticket and you had to follow his Rules, which struck me as reasonable and generous.

At Yale, you don’t need a ticket. Horace Walpole's Strawberry Hill--running through 3 January 2010--is free. If you go on 17 or 20 December, you can get a docent-led tour.

The trouble with shows like this is, (a) one may not take photos and (b) one can’t take notes on everything. I preferred to gawk at all the great stuff. Yet even without intensive notes, I’ve got far too much to say than will fit in a digestible post. This time around I’ll mention only a couple of the many fascinating items.

One was the meticulous catalog of the house contents, which his clerk kept. Among the books listed in the collection was Dutch Method of Extinguishing Accidental Fires. Don’t know why that one struck me but it did.

The illustration at right is of the room it was in, called the “Tribune.” For beautiful colored photos and illustrations of the rooms, spend a little time at the Friends of Strawberry Hill site.

I’ll say more about Horace Walpole and his house in the next few days. Meanwhile, if you’re intrigued, but don’t expect to be near New Haven CT before January, you might want to look at Horace Walpole's Strawberry Hill.

Margaret, he turned out to be a fascinating fellow--enough to lure me to reading his letters, too, though, really, it's not my time period--but how can one resist? Elizabeth, I want to see it again! And yes, I succumbed to temptation and bought the book...because I'm weak. Look for more on Strawberry Hill and Walpole tomorrow.

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A Polite Explanation

There’s a big difference in how we use history. But we’re equally nuts about it. To us, the everyday details of life in the past are things to talk about, ponder, make fun of -- much in the way normal people talk about their favorite reality show.

We talk about who’s wearing what and who’s sleeping with whom. We try to sort out rumor or myth from fact. We thought there must be at least three other people out there who think history’s fascinating and fun, too. This blog is for them.